Apparatus for folding paper and like material



Oct. 11, 1949. J. w. THQRPE- ETAL 1 2,484,390

APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed Feb. 25, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 1 J. W. THORPE in AL APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL Oct. 11, 1949.

6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25. 1949 wWNbNN UNN UNW Inventor William T 9 James r'lf ""5/ Attorneys .7 due 3 ,512"; rem fins-M ,1949. Q J. w. THORPE ET AL 2,484,399

APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed Feb. 25, 1949 6 She'ets-Sheet 3 I KI I In ven tors J2me; m'llim Thwpe .A ttorney Q Oct. 11, 1949.

J. W. THORPE ET AL APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed Feb. 25, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Attorney Oct. 11, 1949 J. w, THORPE ETAL APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL F'ii'ed Feb. 25, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 v Inpenlors J3me; mlllqm 7 0 Oct. 11, 1949.

J. w. THORPE ETAL 2,484,390

APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL Filed Feb. 25, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 v u; T: 53

Inventor:

Attorney Patented Oct. 11, 1949 APPARATUS FOR FOLDING PAPER AND LIKE MATERIAL James W. Thorpe, Dunstable, Sydney W. Bussell,

Stanmore, and Sidney J. Herbert, Richmansworth, England, assignors to H. Reeve Angel & (30., Ltd., London, England, a British company Application February 25, 1949, Serial No. 78,342 In Great Britain February 24, 1948 9 Claims.

This invention is concerned with improvements in apparatus for folding paper and like material.

According'to the present invention there is provided a folding machine for paper and like material comprising an upper and a lower jaw serving to receive therebetween a piece of paper to be folded, and each having movably mounted therein a plurality of folding blades, means being provided for moving a first folding blade from one of said jaws into contact with a piece of paper to be folded and thereafter subsequent folding blades from said other jaw and said one jaw alternately so as to produce a series of folds with adjacent folds on opposite sides of the said piece of paper. y I

Apparatus according to this invention preferably comprises a table or base upon which said jaws are mounted and in order to enable a suscession of pieces of paper to be rapidly'folded we prefer to incorporate means such as endless bands or belts which serve to convey individual pieces of paper into the nip of said jaws for the folding operation. In order to ensure that a piece of paper fed into the nip of the jaws remains in position during the folding operation and is not displaced by the motion of said endless bands or belts we may provide suitable stop members on said base or table which serve to retain the piece of paper square to the jaws during the commencement of the folding operation.

The said jaws which may be of any convenient shape each house a number of folding blades which are slidably mounted side by side there in so that each blade can move out of the jaw in which it is housed and then back into the jaw after the folding has been effected. 7

We prefer to provide an odd number of folding blades in one jaw for example the upper jaw and an even number of blades in the other jaw so that in operation the centre blade in said upper jaw may be caused to move down into contact with the paper to be folded, the first fold being produced by two blades moving upwardly from said lower jaw one on each side ofv said centre blade, so a to make the first fold in the paper about said centre blade. Subsequent folds may then be produced by successive. pairs of blades in the upper and lower jaws moving downwards and upwards respectively closely adjacent to and outside of the preceding blades so as to fold the paper about the preceding blade. Thus a piece of paper having an equal numberof folds on either side of the first fold may be produced.

It will be understood that we may if desired arrange for the first folding blade tomovgupwardly from the lower jaw in which case the first blade will urge the paper upwardly between, two blades in the upper jaw which will be caused to move downwards so as to form the first fold,

The said folding blades which may be of any suitable material are preferably of generally segmental shape and the blades in both jaws are preferably mounted on a common shaft for all the blades. The pivot point of the blades is preferably so disposed with respect to the folding edges of the blades that these will form a series of folds radiating from the edge of the paper.

To control the operation of said folding blades we prefer to provide cam means adapted to be driven by any convenient source of power such as an electric motor. Preferably a single camshaft is provided having a plurality of cams thereon, one cam cooperating with each blade and serving to move its associated blade in the re.- quired sequence with respect to the other blades.

In order to transmit the motion of said cams to the folding blades we may provide cam followers having push or pull rods associated therewith said push or pull rodsbeing coupled to the folding blade and preferably having spring means associated therewith which serve to return the blades into the jaws as required.

In order to enable the spacing apart of adjacent folds to be varied we may provide means for varying the throw of the folding blades in either jaw.

Thus for instance we may provide an eccentric shaft which carries a part of the transmis sion between said cams and said upper or lower blades, variation of the eccentricity of said shaft serving to vary the throw of the appropriate blades.

During the folding operation we prefer to arrange for the cam means to retain the foldin blades which produce the initial fold in the paper in contact therewith, until after the folding o'cera-tion is completed, in order to avoid the partly folded paper becoming deformed. The blades which form the subsequent folds are therefore withdrawn after completing their foldin operation in the order in which they originally moved so that ultimately the folded paper will be gripped only by the three blades which formed the first fold, said blades being withdrawn es withdrawal means to be further described come into operation.

Means are provided for the rapid withdrawal or removal of folded papers from said jaws at the end .of said operation and we prefer to provide an ejector member which is adapted to move between the two jaws so as to sweep folded papers out to one side of said jaws. Preferably said ejector member is mounted on the upper of said jaws means being provided for rotating said member around the upper jaw so that it passes between the upper and lower jaws to remove folded papers. Driving means such as a chain drive may be provided for said extractor member, which drive may be coupled to the said cam shaft. We prefer to provide means which cause said extractor member to move at greater speed during the ;actual paper extracting movement than it does between successive extracting movements. Thus we may provide spring means associated with said extractor member which serve to provide an accelerated motion of the said member whilst it passes between the jaws and removes the folded paper. Preferably also stop means are provided which hold said extractor member in position for an extraction movement said stop means being withdrawn to allow the said member to move under the influence of said spring means at the appropriate instant for the extraction to take place.

The drive for said extractor member or withdrawing means may include a chain and sprocket or other suitable drive from the source of power e. g. an electric motor which operates said folding blades and it will be understood that suitable timing mechanism will be provided to enable the operation of the withdrawing means to be coordinated with the folding operation.

The folding apparatus according to this invention has been found to be particularly suitable for producing fluted or pleated filter paper, which consists of a circular sheet of filter paper folded in half and then provided with a plurality of folds radiating from the folded edge, the adjacent folds facing in opposite directions. In order that the invention may be well understood a preferred embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example only as an attachment to a known folding machine which serves to make the first diametral fold in the circular sheet of paper, although it will be clearly understood that it is within the scope of this invention to provide apparatus for producing a plurality of folds in a piece of paper or like material without using such apparatus as an attachment to any known folding machine.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of folding apparatus according to the invention attached to a folding machine of known type.

Figure 2 shows a plan view thereof.

Figure 3 shows an end elevation thereof.

Figure 4 shows to an enlarged scale a side elevation of the folding jaws.

Figure 5 is a partial plan view of the left end portion of the lower jaw of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a partial plan View of the left end portion of the upper jaw of Figure 4- as seen looking upwardly.

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of the folding jaws as seen when viewing Fig. 4 from the right.

Figure 8 is an end elevation of the cam shaft.

Figure 9 is a sectional view of the sam shaft.

Figure 10 is a side elevat ion of the folding jaws showing the extraction mechanism thereon in part section.

Figure 11 is a front elevation of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a rear elevation of Figure 10.

Figures 13, 14 and 15 show diagrammatically successive stages in the folding operation, and

Figures 16 and 17 show an end view and plan view respectively of a piece of paper folded by apparatus according to the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3 there is shown a folding machine which serves to make a single fold in pieces of paper passed therethrough. The machine comprises a table I having guides 2 which are adjustably mounted in slots 3 in .order to accommodate paper of varying width. Endless tapes 4 are provided which serve to feed pieces of paper, fed thereonto by a pick up mechanism 5 into the assembly of folding rollers 6. Where it is desired to carry out the folding operations to be later described to circular sheets of filter paper it is of importance that the above decribed folding machine makes it fold diametrally of the sheet whatever the size thereof, so as to" deliver a folded sheet of semicircular form. For this purpose adjustment means generally indicated at l are provided to enable the folding mechanism to be adjusted to suit varying sizes of paper. Hand-wheels 2 are provided at each side of the table I which serve to adjust the distance apart of the guides 2 and at the same time to effect the appropriate adjustment .of the folding mechanism.

Mounted adjacent the table I of the said folding machine is a table 9 for the folding apparatus according to the invention, endless bands It are provided which receive the once folded papers of semi circular shape from said machine and convey them singly with their straight edges foremost into the nip of an upper and lower jaw H and I2 mounted on said table 9. I

On either side of said lower jaw l2 a stop member I3 is provided against which the edge of the paper bears when it is in the nip and which thus prevents the paper being dislodged or displaced by the continued movement of said endless bands It).

The said upper and lower jaws II and l2 comprise casings l4 (Figs. 4 to 7) within which upper and lower folding blades 55 and i6 mounted side by side, there being an even number e. g. 8 blades IS in said lower jaw l2 and an odd number, e. g. 7 blades E5 in the upper jaw H.

The said blades l5 and I6 which are of thin metal sheet and are of segmental shape are disposed side by side in the appropriate jaws are pivotally mounted so that the blades in op posite jaws may be moved towards and away from each other as required. A single shaft fl is provided on which all the blades are mounted, and this shaft has its centre slightly offset from the folding edges N3 of the opposed blades in each jaw.

As will be seen from Figures 4 to '7 the blades l5 and [6 have portions I9 which extend beyond the folding edges l8, which portions serve for the operation of the blades in a manner to be further described. As will be seen from Figure 7 the centre upper blade l5a in the upper jaw H is substantially plane while the other upper blades I52), [5c and [5d and all the lower blades I6e, l6 lGg and I6]: have outwardly bent por tions is which enable them to be coupled to actuating mechanism as hereinafter described.

Mounted beneath the table 9 is a cam shaft 28 which is driven by a toothed wheel 2! which takes its drive from any suitable prime mover. The said cam shaft has fifteen cams 22 mounted thereon, one cam for each of said folding blades l5 and I6.

Motion is transmitted from the cam shaft 2!) to the lower blades I6 in the following manner. A cam follower 23 mounted in bell crank lever 24 is maintained in contact with the cam surface by means of a spring anchored to an angle iron 26 at one end and connected at its other end to the end of the bell crank lever remote from the follower 23. Connected to the bell crank lever 24 is a pull rod 21 the length of which can be adjusted as at 28 and which is connected to the portion I9 of the lower blade I6 (see Figure 1).

Motion is transmitted to the upper blades I5 from cam shaft 20 through cam followers mounted on further crank levers 30, springs 3| being provided to maintain the followers in contact with the cam surfaces. Pull rods 32, whose lengths are adjustable as at 33, connect the said levers to further crank levers 34 which are mounted on an eccentrically mounted shaft 35. The other ends of said crank levers 34 are connected to further pull rods 36 which are connected to the portions I9 of the uper blades I5.

The profiles of the cams 22a, b, g, h, and the timing are so arranged that when a sheet of filter paper folded once into a semicircle is presented in the nip of the jaws I I and I2 the centre or first folding blades I5a in the upper jaw M will move down into contact with the paper whilst two blades Ifie from the lower j aw I2 move upwardly one on each side of the first foldin blade I511 50 as to complete the fold about said first blades I5a (Fig. 13) further pairs of blades then move downwards and upwards in succession each blade forming a fold in the hitherto unfolded portion of the paper about the preceding blade on the same side of the first folding blade (see Figs. 14 and 15). Due to the slight offsettin from the folding edge I8 of the centre of the shaft H for the blades the folds produced will radiate from the central part of the original diametral fold (see Figs. 16 and 1'7). The three blades I5a, Ifie forming the first fold are maintained in position whilst the subsequent folding blades complete their folding action and are then withdrawn in the order in which they originally moved, the paper thus being held by these three blades and blades IBh at the end of the 0peration. The blades I5a, I6e, and I6h are then withdrawn as extraction means for the folded paper, to be further described, come into operation.

In order to Vary the spacing of the folds in the be eccentrically adjusted so as to vary the stroke Y of the upper blades and thus vary the spacing apart of the folds. The end portions of the shaft 35 are journalled in the machine frame as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. The intermediate portion of the shaft 35 is eccentrically offset from the end portions thereof, in the nature of a crank, as indicated by the dotted line 35 in Fig. 1. It will be seen that by such a structural arrangement the shaft 35 maybe rotated about the axis of its end portions and thus change the position of the axis about which the cranks 34 rotate. This adjustment effects a change of the range of movement of the upper blades and may be resorted to to alter the spacing between finished folds.

An extractor mechanism (Figs. 10 to 12) is provided for the rapid removal of the folded paper from the said jaws II and I2. Mounted on the upper jaw I I is an extractor head 31, a drive shaft 38 is journalled in the head 31 and carries a bearing 39 thereon to which is attached an extractor arm 40 having an extractor blade 4| at its end; i A crank arm 42 is rigidly attached to said drive shaft 38 and has a tension spring 43 attached thereto, the other end of said spring 43 being attached to the extractor arm 49 so that upon rotation of said drive shaft 38, the bearing 39, arm 40, and blade will be caused to rotate by the tension of said spring.

Drive is transmitted to said shaft 33 from a pinion 20' on said crank shaft 2!? by chain 44 to a sprocket 45, a jockey wheel 46 being provided. From sprocket the drive is transmitted via shaft 41 and through two bevel wheels 48, 49 to shaft 38.

"In order to ensure that the extraction operation is effected as rapidly as possible upon completion of the folding operation means are provided for holding the extractor arm 45, and blade 4I in position adjacent the jaws II and I2 until the instant when blades I511, I5@ and Ifih are withdrawn.

On theside of the extractor head 31 a housing 50 is disposed, a stop member 5| having a compression spring 51 there around is slidably mounted in said housing 50, so that in the position shown in Figs. 10 and 11 it will obstruct movement of arm 4|! and prevent blade 4| from passing between jaws II and I2.

Mountedon shaft 38 is a cam 52 adapted to engage a follower 53 vertically slidable in sleeve 54'. The end of follower 53 is coupled by cranks 55, 56 to the end of stop member 5|. Thus upon rotation of shaft 38 cam 52 will cause stop member 5| to be moved into the path of arm 40 against the compression of spring 51, which spring 51 serves to withdraw stop member 5| at the appropriate instant represented by the profile of cam 52. The cam profile and the timing of the extractor mechanism above described is so arranged that the rotation of shaft 38 will bring arm 4|! and blade 4| round to the position shown in Figure II whilst the folding operation of the paper is being completed at which time stop 5| prevents further movement of arm 40. however arm 40 is rotatably mounted on shaft 38,

. shaft 38 and crank arm 42 continue to rotate stretching spring 43 between said crank arm '42 and extractor arm 4%. Whilst the folded paper is still held by blades I5a, IBe and Ifih stop member 5| is withdrawn so that extractor blade 4| is drawn by spring 43 up against the outside of blade IBh which is immediately thereafter withdrawn together with blades [5a and I66 thus allowing spring 43 to pull extractor blade 4| sharply through the space between jaws I I and I2 thus sweeping the folded paper out of the jaws to one side where it may be received in any suitable container (not shown).

It will be seen that when the machine is in operation, shaft 38 will rotate continuously so that after each extraction movement blade 4| and arm 40 will be carried round the upper jaw II ready for a subsequent extraction.

In Figures 16 and 17 a filter paper folded in apparatus as described above is shown and as will be seen the paper has a plurality of folds, adjacent folds being made on opposite sides of the paper, whilst all the folds radiate from the diametral edge about which the first fold was made.

It will be understood that only a preferred embodiment by way of example of the invention has been described above.

We claim:

1. In a machine for folding paper, having upper and lower jaws providing 'an opening therebetween for receiving a piece of paper to be folded,

Since a plurality of movable folding blades mounted in each of said jaws and movable from said jaws into said opening to interleaf said blades with the blades of one jaw alternating with the blades of the other jaw, blade moving means for moving said blades into said opening for producing a series of oppositely directed folds in said paper and for returning said blades into said jaws after said folds have been formed, the improvement which comprises, an ejector for the folded paper being mounted on a shaft continuously rotatable in one direction about an axis spaced from said opening and having an ejector member passing through said opening in a direction laterally of said jaws during a part of the rotating of said ejector, and driving means to rotate said shaft in timed relation to the movement of said blades to pass said member through said opening to eject the folded paper after said blades have been returned into said jaws.

2. A machine as defined in claim 1 in which said driving means includes means for moving said ejector portion through said opening at a higher speed than its speed during the remainder of the rotation of said ejector.

3. A machine as defined in claim 2 in which said driving means rotates at uniform speed and includes a resilient connection to said ejector and said machine includes a stop means for stopping said ejector before said member passes through said opening and means to withdraw said stop means as soon as said blades are withdrawn from said opening.

4. A machine as defined in claim 1 in which said jaws are positioned one above the other and said axis is a horizontal axis above said opening so that said ejector member is rotated about said upper jaw.

5. A machine as defined in claim 4 in which said driving means rotates at uniform speed and includes a resilient connection to said ejector and. said machine includes a stop means for stopping said ejector before said member passes through said opening and means to withdraw said stop means as soon as said blades are withdrawn from said opening.

6. A machine as defined in claim 3 in which said blade moving means includes a cam shaft having a cam for each of said blades disposed thereon to first cause movement of a Single centrally positioned blade into said opening from one of said jaws and then movement of pairs of blades alternately from said jaws and progressively outwardly from said first blade, said blade moving means including said cams causing withdrawal of said blades from said opening in the sequence in which they were moved into said opening, said stop means being released as soon as the outermost pair of blades is withdrawn.

7. In a machine for folding paper, having upper and lower jaws providing an opening therebetween for receiving a piece of paper to be folded, a plurality of movable folding blades mounted in each of said jaws and movable from said jaws into said opening to interleaf said blades with the blades of one jaw alternating with the blades of the other jaw, blade moving means for moving said blades into said opening for producing a series of oppositely directed folds in said paper and for returning said blades into said jaws after said folds have been formed, the improvement which comprises, means for pivotally mounting all of said blades for pivotal movement into and out of said opening about a single axis spaced from the folding portions of said blades but closely adjacent the ends thereof, and a single cam shaft having a cam for each of said blades and connections between said cams and said blades forming a part of said biade moving means.

8. A machine as defined in claim 7 in which said blade moving means includes an adjusting means for simultaneously adjusting the distance which all of the blades of one jaw move into said opening.

9. A machine as defined in claim 8 in which said adjusting means includes a bell crank in each of the connections to said blades of said jaw and an angularly adjustable eccentric shaft upon which all of said bell cranks are mounted.

JAMES Vi. THORPE. SYDNEY W. BUSSELL. SIDNEY J. HERBERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 284,749 McCreary et a1. Sept. 11, 1883 336,656 McCreary et a1. Feb. 23, 1886 451,534 Turner May 5, 1891 1,914,031 Mahny June 13, 1933 

